1099 around the passion project

"If you’re serious and want to take your passion mission places, the indie life situation is definitely a far better environment for it, once you do the things necessary to make it work. It won’t happen magically. The making-it-work goes both ways. The passion mission has to inject soul into the money-making activity, and the money-making activity has to be artfully arranged around the core creative disciplines of the passion mission. Either both are sustainable long-term, or neither is."

-Venkatesh Rao, The Art of Gig, Volume 1: Foundations

What are the chances that your government contracting work is your passion?

My guess is ... 5%.

And that's okay. People work to pay the bills. Hopefully their work is fun and enjoyable. But if they are being honest with themselves, if they didn't get paid to do it, they would happily stop.

Similarly, going 1099 in and of itself won't be a passion.

What it does give you, is time, autonomy, and resources to build a life around your passion.

They key then is to be deliberate about it.

One temptation you may succumb to is the "bill more hours" game.

Since, unlike a W2 employee, the more you work, the more money you make, you will actually be motivated to work more.

This isn't bad per se. If you want to pad your savings or investment accounts, you should!

But when you have enough, you should regularly leave work early/come in late/take Fridays off to pursue those creative leisure activities that energize you.

You have to be disciplined around building your 1099 life around your passions and hobbies, or else you'll find yourself at the office at 5 PM on a Friday, wondering why that extra few hundred bucks isn't making you happy.

Want the full playbook? Check out Going 1099.